Species ca. 30 (3 in the flora): north temperate and arctic regions, North America, Europe, Asia.

As many as 10 Eurasian species of Trollius have been cultivated in North America as ornamentals. Of these, only T . europaeus Linnaeus has been reported to escape. The species infrequently persists near old dwellings in New Brunswick (B.Boivin 1966; H.Hinds, pers. comm.). Trollius europaeus may be distinguished from all North American species by its globose flowers with strongly incurved sepals (in North American species flowers are shallowly bowl-shaped with sepals ± spreading).